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James R. Koelsch

Jim KoelschSince Jim Koelsch graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, he has spent more than 35 years reporting on various kinds of manufacturing technology. His publishing experience includes stints as a staff editor on Production Engineering (later called Automation) at Penton Publishing and as editor of Manufacturing Engineering at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. After moving to freelance writing in 1997, Jim has contributed to many other media sites, foremost among them has been Automation World, which has been benefiting from his insights since 2004.

Beverage
Decentralized motion, driven by intelligence
Power conversion and control/communication issues drive the choice for distributed motion control. But is this popular approach right for all machine builders and every application?
August 16, 2013
Distributed motion in action, courtesy of Siemens
Beverage
Motion: how to decide when to distribute control
Although automation vendors tend to urge users to consider decentralizing drives and distributing as much intelligence as possible throughout their machinery, most readily admit that it’s not for every application. The centralized approach is still valid for many applications.
August 16, 2013
Home
Just what is distributed motion?
With the proliferation of networking technology, many automation vendors are devising ways to deploy it to distribute motion control architecture throughout machinery. A set of three schemes for doing this exploits intelligence in drives to offload some of the computing burden from the equipment’s controller.
August 16, 2013
Home
OEE: A Controversial Figure
This performance metric takes center stage as a growing number of users turn to it both to boost the efficiency of their equipment and to compare the performance of machines and production lines. But is this increasingly popular metric really this versatile?
October 7, 2012
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OEE facts
OEE is a measure of the utilization of an asset’s productive capacity in terms of three factors—availability, performance (throughput), and quality—expressed as percentages of their ideal values.
October 7, 2012
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How replacing pneumatics with servos can improve motion control
Automated soup packaging challenges machine makers, who turn to electric cylinders that mimic pneumatics.
August 24, 2012
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B&R Industrial Automation: B&R Industrial Automation: B&R Industrial Automation: B&R Industrial Automation: B&R Industrial Automation: Fluid power gets smart by adding electronic controls
Bosch Rexroth Corporation
Machine builders: Don’t let the latest hybrid drives and controls take you by surprise. They’re breathing new life into pneumatics and hydraulics, boosting the efficiency of equipment and saving users lots of money.
August 24, 2012
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Coding, Printing & Labeling
Traceability via RFID at K-C
Both Kimberly-Clark and Wal-Mart know which Huggies pallets contain a particular case of the product, which has huge ramifications.
August 31, 2005
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Saccharin warning labels removed
The food industry has long argued that warning labels on products containing saccharin are unnecessary. Apparently its argument resonated with powerful forces in Congress because in a somewhat unusual move, the 2001 appropriations bill for Health and Human Services contained a provision eliminating the warning label for saccharin.
January 31, 2001
Meat/Poultry/Seafood
Water, water everywhere
In another of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman's 11th hour regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new requirement. Meat processors must list clearly on labels the percentage of retained water or the maximum percentage of absorbed water of meat and poultry products.
January 31, 2001
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